Harris



(No Model.) 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Q s; FAIRMAN. v

OAR BRAKE. I

. Patented Apr. 17,1888.

N. PETERS, mmumm wahmmn D (1 I UNITED STATES} PATENT L OFFinis; I i

SIMON FAIRMAN, or. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, AssIeNoR ro EN AMINIG;

HARRIS,0E sA un PLACE.

CAR-BRAKE.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo. 381,353,dated-Apri1 17, 1888." S Application filed November as, rea z. SeriaI'No Q'SdIlUB. (in) model.)

for railway-cars.v It is designed on the principle of utilizing them'oxnentum of the car in the application of the brakes and to cause the mo- 7 mentum of each car to apply its own brake.

Further, in connection with the mechanism -for applying the momentum of the car to the putting on the brakes of theicar, the plan also includes a controlling mechanism extending throughout the train for throwing off the brakes and throwing out the brake-operating mechanism, so that the brakes may be released and held off on the whole train, or on any particular car when disconnected from the train.

' I have sought to provide a brake mechanism which will operate in whichever direction the car may be moving, in which the movements are all positive and require no springs in any part ofthe structure, and in whichthe mechanism may be ,applied to the existing forms of trucks and brakes without any material change in either.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is 'a perspective view of oneof the car-trucks I with my improved locking mechanism at 'tached. Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the 7 tion.

operating-cam in side elevation and the devices in operative engagement therewith. Fig. 3 is a plan viewof .the two car-trucks. Fig. 4 isadetailview. I r

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have represented only one end of the car-body and only one truck, my mechanism for applying the brake being such that upon each car. r I

On one of theaxles A of the truck is fixed a cam-wheel, B, havinglateral faces and a'double incline, the incline being symmetrical, so that the cam will operate equally in either direconly one is required movement of the truck. Its loweror free end I carries a friction-wheel, which bears laterally tthe-oscillating-lever is made smooth, so that This cam apparatus operates weighted lever 11', pivoted to oscillate across the line of 'againstthe face'of the cam=wheel, sothateach revolution ofthe'wheel pushesthe free end of v the lever laterally, andthis movement is .made

to operate vupon intermediate mechanismat each revolution of the car-wheel and to past laterally a pawl or some equivalen'tdevice which impinges against the brakechain and puts it under strain, thereby puttingonthe brakes.

. In the form shown in the drawings the de tails of construction includedevices bymeans "of which my apparatus may be applied toex isting cars, andin this the oscillating weighted lever is pivoted at its u'pperiend to a projec- '5 tion, 0, on a frame, 0, which is bolted tothe truck-beam. on thesame frame, held by suit able guides, is a sliding, rack-bar, D, on the end of which is'a stud, d. -The sliding rackbar is arranged to be'move'd laterally by the 7Q pawl through intermediate mechanism and to push against the brake chain E. To avoidl friction and wear of the chain,-a small'pulley,

,e, is placed on'the stud d. The oscillating V g weighted levercarries a working-pawl, F, p1v 7 5,: oted thereon, and the end ofv the pawl engages I with the teeth on the upper face of "the rack, and when the lever is moved laterally it carr es the bar with it by the engagement of thepawl I -w'ith the teeth of ,thesaidbar. by aholding-pawl,G,both'pawls-being made to The bar is held engagevwith the rack-bar by gravity', .though,- manifestly, springs may beused; but I prefer to'have them made 's'ufiiciently heavy to op erate by g'ravity. The teeth, upon the rack bar are extended sufficiently to allow the pawl to operate the rack-bar far enough to give the I movement necessary to put on the brakes.

That part of the rack-bar'extending toward when the'working-pawl has operated the rackbar a sufficient distance it rides 'upo'n theplain a that there is no danger of undue or destructive strain upon the brake mechanism. It is aspart of the barand thenceases to operate, so

the car. .At the same time it does not interfere with the working of the brake by the ordinary hand-wheel. The shaft of this is represented at H, to the shaft of which the chain E is attached and by which it may be wound up to put on the brakes independently of the automatic mechanism; but, while I have illustrated what I deem the best and simplest of pushing mechanism interposed between the oscillatinglever andthestudwhich pushes aside the brake-chain, I do not desire to limit myself thereto,as it may be very easily and greatly varied from the form shown. The

oscillating lever is made to swing freely and is weighted at its lowerend, and gravity will return it to a vertical position,bearing on the low part of the cam-wheel after it has been pushed aside by the high part.

The mechanism described is designed only to put on the brake and requires some mechanism for removing the brakes for the more convenient operation of the whole apparatus in the railway-train. In the mechanism shown for this purpose is a longitudinal shaft, K, arranged centrally of the car-body and having suitable bearings therein. It may be made of rod, or, better, three-fourthsinch gas pipe. Upon it is fixed a pinion, k,which meshes with a second rack-bar, L, which slides laterally in guides attached to the'truck-beam of the carbody. One end of thissecond rack-bar has an arm bent to form a double incline, which extends over a bearing-plate, m, 'on a weighted lever,M,pivoted to have vertical movement in a plane transverse to the car-body. The arm with a double incline bears directly upon the friction-wheel n,journaled in a stud on the plate. The weighted end of the lever tends to keep the plate normally raised, The plate overlies an extended rear arm, 0, of the work ing-pawl and also over an inclined arm on the upper end of the oscillating lever above its pivot, so that when the plate is depressed it throws the workingpawl out of engagement with the lever, and this pawl is also at the same time made to lift the holding-pawl, so as to leave the rack-bar free. As this releasing mechanism is on the car-body and the brake-applying mechanism is on the truck, the plate must be made large enough to remain over the arms of the working-pawl and oscillating lever whatever may be the position of the truck, as in turning curves. The double incline onthe end of the second rackbar allows the rotation of the shaft in either direction to throw off the brake, and the rack on the second rack-bar is made short, so that when the pinion has been turned suificiently to throw the pawls out of engagement the teeth of the pinion are past the teeth of the rack-bar, and any rotation'of the pinion will simply holdthe secondrack-bar in position, and thus hold the brakeapplying mechanism out of gear, while the shaft may be operated further upon another car subsequently attached without releasing the brake mechanism upon the first car. The operating-rod is provided at each end with a pinion,.p, by means of which it may be operated by any suitable lever and pawl by the operator standing on the car to which the mechanism is applied. The connections between this operating-rod and the brake-applying mechanism may of course be varied. It is essential that there be releasing devices connecting the shaft with the brake-applying devices.

My invention includes the releasing of the brakes throughout the whole train by an attendant upon any car. This requires that there should be connections between the operatingrods on all the cars of the train. In order to provide this connection, which must be flexible laterally and vertically while rigid against torsion, Iattach to the ends of each rod a shell, Q, in the shape of a hemisphere with a cylin drical extension, with a longitudinal slot, g, on one side. The shell is arranged to bring this sloton the upper side on one car and on the under side on the contiguous end of the next car. Into these shells fit the balls of the dumb-bell coupling B. Each hall has a pin, r, adapted to the slot in the shell, one above and the other below, and when the cars are brought together this coupling is held so as to enter the shells with the pins in the slots. The pins communicate rotary motion from one shaft to another, but allow free vertical movement, and the balls fitting in the shells allow also free lateral movement. The balls may be provided with slots, as in Fig. 4, which provide a spring action and hold the parts together.

In all the mechanism,as described, no springs are required and the movements are all positive. The releasing-lever is held by its weight normally out of contact with the brake-applying pawls,which are normally in gear by their own weight, and the oscillating lever which carries the working-pawls is normally against the face of its cam through its own weight. A brake-chain runs from the brake-levers S to the hand-lever shaft without being interfered with other than in the manner described by the automatic mechanism. The amount of tension applied by the automatic mechanism will depend upon the amount of chain taken up by the hand-wheel, and therefore the chain can be regulated by the hand-wheel in order to give a greater or less amount of pressure by the automatic mechanism according to the load of the car.

In order to facilitate the strain upon the brake-chain by the application of the automatic mechanism, I have provided a pulley, t, on the car-body, so as to hold a part of the chain in line. Another may be placed upon the other side of the truck, if desired.

I am aware that ball-and-socket joints have heretofore been used between the operatingrods on different cars in a railway-car brake, and I do not broadly claim such connection. My invention is designed to provide more effectually for differences in vertical height,

IIO

as well as in lateral movement,and to this end,

it is confined particularly to the dumb-beltcoupling in connection, with thesocket.

v I am aware that it is not new to cminect the shafts of a railway-car brake-by means of a shell inclosing balls fixed on the adjacent ends,

and I do not broadly claimthis modeof connection.' I

I claim as my invention-- 1. In combination with'car-brakes' and the operating-chain therefor, a' cam-wheel fixed" upon the axle, having double inclined faces, a lever operated by the cam-wheel, a bar arranged to bear against the brake-chain, and connections between the bar and the oscillating lever, whereby the oscillationsof the lever push the baragainst theichain, substantially as'described. I 7 i I 2. In combination with the brakes and chain of a car, a cam having double-incline lateral faces, a lever operated bythe cam,and a laterally-sliding rack baroperated by a pawl I on the lever and arranged to bear against the chain of the brake, substantially as described.

'3. In combination with the brakes and-f chain "of a car, the sliding rack-bar arranged to bear against the chain, the holding and the working'pawls, the'latter carried upon a lever, the said lever, and the cam-wheel on the I to bear against the chain, the holding and the working pawls, the-latter carried upon"a weighted lever, the said; lever, and the camwheel having double-inclined faces, substan- I tially as described.

5. In combination with the brakes and chain of a car, laterally-sliding rack-bar, working-pawl carried upon an oscillating le I ver andworked bya' cam on the axle, an arm -tially as described,

7. In combinationwith a brake-applying apparatus having pawls by which it is operas described.

ar a and held, asliding rack, a are carrying a pinion engaging with the rack, and'conneotions between them and the pawls, where by the turning of the shaft is communicated to, the pawls to release the brakes, all substantially as described.

'8. .The operating-rod carrying a-pinion engaging withasliding rack-bar which releases the working and holding pawlsof the brake applying mechanism, the rack on said bar being arranged in relation to its pinion to to allow ,ithe pinion to continue to turn, substantially as described, v Y

9,; In combination, the ,operating shaftcarrying a pinion, the. sliding rack-bar engaging therewith, an inclined extension of the rack- ,65 cease action when the brakes are'released and I ,Ybar, a weighted lever operated by the inclined I extension, andan armion' the workingspawl of a the brake applying apparatus operated by the weighted lever to release the brake inechan ism, all substantiallyas described.

10. In. combination with the brakes of a car and with the chain and hand-wheel shaft r thereof, a laterally-moving bar carrying'a -friction-pulley arranged to press theflchain aside and apply the brake, all substantially 11. In combination, theicanr-wheel,

carryinga plate arranged to press down the arms and to throw theweighte'd lever and the" pawl out of connection withtheir working. parts, substantially asodescribe'd,

r 9 '12. In combination with theoperating -rod ofa railway-car brake, a shell, Q, on the end v of each rod, hemispherical .in shape, with a cylindrical extension provided witha slot, q,

the'slots being arranged onopposite sides, as

explained, in combination with a dumb-bell coupling havinga pin, 7, fitted totheslots, I I the pin ;on one ball of the'dumb-bellbeingon thevupper side'and on the other *ball on the lower side, substantially as described.

tco

In testimony whereof I have signed my name i to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses: I JNo,, T. MADDOX, HENRY ROTH.

SIMON FA IRM AKQ 

